Elizabeth: Renaissance Prince by Lisa Hilton. This biography maps Elizabeth I's dramatic journey from timid newly-crowned queen to one of the most powerful monarchs ever to rule England.

Elizabeth I: A Life by David M. Loades. The reality of Queen Elizabeth I's character and personal attitudes are hard to detect behind her public mask. This major biography, written by a leading Tudor expert, looks in detail at the private woman.

The First Elizabeth by Carolly Erickson. Biography of an elegant, flirtatious, diplomatic, violent, arrogant, and outrageous woman.

Queen Elizabeth I by John E. Neale. Long considered the definitive biography of the great Tudor queen, this book won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography.

Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset. Biography of the brilliant, mercurial, seductive, and maddening queen who became the most powerful ruler of her time.

The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor by Elizabeth Norton. After the death of Henry VIII, his daughter Elizabeth lived with her stepmother, Catherine Parr, and Catherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. But Seymour's flirtation with Elizabeth created a scandal that was dangerous for them both.

Books by Alison Plowden

The Young Elizabeth by Alison Plowden. The first 25 years of Elizabeth I. The child of a doomed mother, disinherited and imprisoned, she knew the eyes of the world were on her.

Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years by John Guy. Only after she reached age 50 did Queen Elizabeth I begin to wield real power in her own right. This biography reveals the woman behind the polished veneer: wracked by insecurity, often too anxious to sleep alone, confronting war, economic crisis, and conspiracy.

Other Books About Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I and Her Circle by Susan Doran. Queen Elizabeth I's inner circle and the human relationships at the heart of her personal and political life.

Elizabeth I and Her World by Susan Watkins, photos by Mark Fiennes. A look at the nation's evolving love affair with its queen, illustrated with photographs, portraits, paintings, tapestries, and personal objects.

Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd edited by Janet Arnold. This reference on the vast wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I is illustrated with photographs of portraits, miniatures, tomb sculptures, engravings, woven textiles and embroideries.

Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend by Clark Hulse. Combines text and images to tell the queen's story. Contains over 100 photographs of books, manuscripts, maps, letters, paintings, clothing, furniture, and many more artefacts dating from her reign.

Elizabeth I: Collected Works by Elizabeth, edited by Leah S. Marcus, Janel M. Mueller, and Mary Beth Rose. This volume contains nearly all of the writings of Queen Elizabeth I: the clumsy letters of childhood, the early speeches of a fledgling queen, and the prayers and poetry of the monarch's later years.

Elizabeth I: Translations, 1544-1589 edited by Janel Mueller and Joshua Scodel. The first complete collection of Elizabeth's translations from and into Latin, French, and Italian. Includes translations of Cicero and Seneca, John Calvin and Marguerite de Navarre, and more.

Elizabeth I in Letters

Elizabeth I: Her Life in Letters by Felix Pryor. Published to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Elizabeth I's death, this book illustrates in color 60 manuscripts written by or to Elizabeth. Each is accompanied by commentary. There are letters from ministers and galley slaves, spies and traitors, and more.

Sir Walter Raleigh: In Life & Legend by Mark Nicholls and Penry Williams. New biography of one of the key figures in British history. Soldier, voyager, visionary, courtier, politician, poet, historian, and patriot, he was favored by Elizabeth I but executed by James I as a traitor.

Elizabeth & Leicester by Sarah Gristwood. Elizabeth I scandalized her court with her lifelong love for Robert Dudley. This is an intimate portrait of two people who transformed their age.

Death and the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and the Dark Scandal That Rocked the Throne by Chris Skidmore. After the wife of Elizabeth I's favorite Robert Dudley died of a broken neck in an apparent accident, suspicion cast a shadow over the queen's reign. This book uses recently discovered forensic evidence from the original investigation to end to centuries of speculation about the true cause of Amy Robsart's death.

Elizabeth & Leicester by Elizabeth Jenkins. An account of the relationship between Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History by Lytton Strachey. Portrays the Queen's and the Earl's compelling attraction for on another, their disagreements, and their contest for power, which led to a final, tragic confrontation.

Sir Francis Drake: The Queen's Pirate by Harry Kelsey. Remembered as an adventurer who helped extend England's maritime empire to Africa and the Americas, Drake roamed the world under Elizabeth's patronage.

The Queen's Conjurer by Benjamin Woolley. The science and magic of Dr. John Dee, adviser to Queen Elizabeth I.

Oxford: Son of Queen Elizabeth I by Paul Streitz. Claims that William Shakespeare was the 17th Earl of Oxford, and that he was the secret son of Queen Elizabeth I and her step-mother Katherine Parr's last husband, Thomas Seymour.

Pirate Nation: Elizabeth I and Her Royal Sea Rovers by David Childs. Elizabeth's policy of seizing foreign assets drew her into partnership with pirates. The rule of law at sea was almost nonexistent, but the practice of piracy taught English seamen how to fight.

Elizabeth I and Her Age edited by Donald V. Stump and Susan M. Felch. Sets Elizabeth's poems, prayers, speeches, proclamations and letters side by side with contemporary works that focus on the same events. Also includes commentary and criticism, ranging from early accounts of Elizabeth to the queen in film.

The Elizabethans by A. N. Wilson. The Elizabethan age was remarkable for the personalities of its leading participants, including the complex Virgin Queen herself; Francis Drake, who circumnavigated the globe with a drunken, mutinous crew; political intriguers like William Cecil and Francis Walsingham; and literary geniuses such as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.

England and the Spanish Armada: The Necessary Quarrel by James McDermott. Examines the process by which the Spaniard, a long-term ally and friend, became in English eyes the epitome of human depravity, and how resistance to his imagined goals helped shape an emerging sense of nationhood.

The Last Armada by Des Ekin. The story of Queen Elizabeth, Juan del Águila, Hugh O'Neill, and the 100-day Spanish invasion.

The Elizabethan World edited by Susan Doran and Norman Jones. An illustrated collection of essays by international scholars. Topics include government, political ideas, censorship and propaganda, religion, social hierarchies, women, the family and household, popular culture, art, exploration and imperialism, and wars.

The Young Elizabeth in Fiction

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory. Novel about the rivalry between Queen Mary I and her half-sister Elizabeth I. By the author of The Other Boleyn Girl.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. This novel tells the story of Elizabeth I before she became queen. Her father, Henry VIII, dominates her childhood, but others play powerful roles, including her loving and lethal sister Mary, ambitious Thomas Seymour, and the ever-present ghost of Anne Boleyn.

The Marriage Game by Alison Weir. Young Queen Elizabeth I's relationship with the dashing -- and married -- Robert Dudley inspires whispers in her court. Matters take a dark turn when his wife is found dead.

The Spymaster's Daughter by Jeane Westin. In the court of Elizabeth I, the daughter of the queen's powerful spymaster becomes a secret agent.

All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather. Rosamund, a lady of Elizabeth's I bedchamber, is drawn into the rough world of theatre and eventually sent in disgrace to the castle where Mary, Queen of Scots is held captive.

Mystery, Suspense

The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner. Forced to work as a double agent, spy Brendan Prescott helps the future Queen Elizabeth I investigate the disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. This is Book 1 in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles. The second book is The Tudor Conspiracy, which takes place during the reign of Mary I.

The Poyson Garden by Karen Harper. Mystery in which the young Elizabeth plays detective.

Being Elizabeth by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Novel about a powerful modern businesswoman, loosely based on the life story of England's Queen Elizabeth I. The previous books in this series, also based on English royal history, are The Ravenscar Dynasty and The Heir (also called Heirs of Ravenscar).

The Tournament by Matthew Reilly. Future English queen Elizabeth I visits the Ottoman Empire and is caught up in intrigue after a murder at the sultan's court.

Elizabeth I Paper Doll by Tom Tierney. Includes Sir Walter Raleigh and Earl of Essex paper dolls. The Queen's seven gowns of silk, satin, and brocade are accented with ruffs, pearls, and gemstones. Descriptive notes provide information on each outfit.

Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer. Novel in which Queen Elizabeth I tells the story of her early life. From the Young Royals series.

Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan. Fiction for readers ages 12 and up. A secret society of young women make up Elizabeth I's most trusted royal guard. If God won't save the Queen, they will.

At the House of the Magician by Mary Hooper. A young maid in the household of Dr. Dee, court magician to Queen Elizabeth I, stumbles across a plot to assassinate the queen. Followed by a sequel, By Royal Command. For young adult readers.